Week 41 - WTA ($220K) - Osaka, Japan - Hard

adz1983 · Intermediate Club Player

RE: Week 41 - WTA ($220K) - Osaka, Japan - Hard

insomniacfolder · Challenger level

steven wrote:
insomniacfolder wrote:
So, when was the last time a British women made two semi-finals at the same WTA level event?
Jo Durie - St Petersburg 1991 (I think!)
Great to see Hev make her first WTA singles SF - including this week, the four semi-finalists have made 33 WTA semis between them, and Sam Stosur accounts for 30 of those so you can work out the rest!

Thank you. Just amazing that you can get that data so quickly

The British womens tennis records being giving a long overdue refreshing by Heather & Laura then, which is great, and a great example to the highly promising group of youngtsters Jazzi, Maia, Gabi and others currently performing so impressively too.

Regarding the other part, the WTA, in this article, seems to think that 3 of the 4 semi-finallists in Osaka are playing their first WTA semi's.

EDIT - I should learn to read, sorry. Evidently, I couldn't work out the rest!

-- Edited by insomniacfolder on Friday 12th of October 2012 07:12:09 PM

insomniacfolder · Challenger level

WD QF: WATSON, Heather/DATE-KRUMM, Kimiko (GBR/JPN) [4] 147 defeated AOYAMA, Shuko/MOULTON-LEVY, Megan (JPN/USA) 183 7-6(7) 6-1
WD SF: WATSON, Heather/DATE-KRUMM, Kimiko (GBR/JPN) [4] 147 vs. MEDINA GARRIGUES, Anabel/ZHENG, Jie (ESP/CHN) [2] 49

Tough doubles assignment - AMG again and Jie.
Heather though is guaranteed CH's for singles and doubles now after this event.

So, when was the last time a British women made two semi-finals at the same WTA level event?

insomniacfolder · Challenger level

With regards to Laura, chasing top 50 seems a bit strange to me, as it's just an arbitrary number.

In Tennis terms, 50 doesn't confer any extra benefits or privileges. As opposed to 100, 32, 16 or 10 which most often do, or categorically do, either in terms of event seedings and draws, or the additional marketing that the WTA and others invest in you.

Sure, it's a nice milestone, and the higher your ranking the more chance to be seeded, but that's true for any number around where Laura currently is. The race to be to top 46 would be even more valid by that yard stick.

Also by strange quirk of fate, in the UK top 50 also has the additional coincidental benefit of most probably taking you past Bally & Annie K's CH's, and so to be likely hailed, "the greatest British female tennis player since Jo Durie/for 30 years/etc", if that matters.

It seems as though all that will come anyway, so I'm not sure it's worth chasing this year by playing tournaments unless they had already been scheduled. Her first PC in Osaka seemed to indicate that was not the case: this would be the last event of the year - additional events would be added only if she could avoid qualifying.

Anyway, I'm sure her team know what they're doing. They've managed her schedule very well over the last number of years. She is beyond the upper bound of the standard deviation for number of events played by members of the top 100 this year though (as are all the Brit girls in it - visualisation for the entire year to come soon, I hope).

insomniacfolder · Challenger level

Saturday's OOP is up - I'll try to do the time conversion correctly today!

Heathers singles SF starts proceedings at 12:00 local time - 04:00 UK time.

Her doubles SF is the third match, no set time, and so only 'after suitable rest' applies. So probably about 08:00 UK time at the earliest, or thereafter.

philwrig · Hall of fame

An even more reliable source has now reported that Laura will not play Luxembourg after all and will not play again this season. Good decision methinks.

philwrig · Hall of fame

A brief clip of Doi playing today, a lefty with a decent ballstrike.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVeTs-PO090&feature=plcp

insomniacfolder · Challenger level

philwrig wrote:
A brief clip of Doi playing today, a lefty with a decent ballstrike.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVeTs-PO090&feature=plcp

Randomly there's also a clip of Laura playing (and winning) a single point! confuse

Meanwhile, Donna Vekic is into the semi's in the $100K in China this week, where she will play the very tough, as Laura well knows, Su-Wei Hsieh. If she does win though, and makes the final she will usurp Laura as the youngest in the top 100, just scraping in for the first time. It might be a brief entry though, as Vekic still has 68 points to defend this year from 2 Lagos events late last year.

tony_orient · ATP qualifying

A bonus for Heather that Doi is also playing her first semi-final - means she is giving nothing away in terms of experience. I don't think Heather would have expected to be such a strong favourite going in to her first semi, but Doi must also be playing well to get this far. I'm expecting it to be tougher than Heather's two wins in ther previous meetings.

It would certainly be pretty amazing to have two different women reach a WTA final within 3 weeks of eachother having waited over 22 years for it to happen.

From the Daily Mail:

Robson went down 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 to Taipeis Kai-Chen Chang, and abandoned plans to play in next weeks Luxembourg Open before the curtain comes down on the season.
The 18-year-old has a sore shoulder that requires treatment and will end 2012 outside the top 50

The shoulder has been a problem since her match with Peng Shuai, although the fact she has played through it for two tournaments suggests it's not serious. I wonder if she would have stopped to get it treated sooner had it not been so close to the end of the season - as it is she picked up a useful 180 points in two tournaments without being 100%

-- Edited by tony_orient on Friday 12th of October 2012 09:40:12 PM

steven · Tennis legend

insomniacfolder wrote:
So, when was the last time a British women made two semi-finals at the same WTA level event?

Jo Durie - St Petersburg 1991 (I think!)

Great to see Hev make her first WTA singles SF biggrin - including this week, the four semi-finalists have made 33 WTA semis between them, and Sam Stosur accounts for 30 of those so you can work out the rest!

insomniacfolder · Challenger level

And so.... Heather's SF is about to start. Heather serving first. Good luck.

Set1

Game 1: Heather will probably need to serve better than yesterday. Worryingly, despite making 6 first serves in the game, Heather is taken to deuce, then Advantage against, and loses that BP, to be broken. Not the most auspicious start, but early days...

0-1*

Game 2: From 30-30*, Doi holds to 30.

*0-2

Game 3: Heather serves a DF at *40-30, to create deuce, and Doi gets a BP chance directly after. It is saved though & Heather holds from deuce 3.

2 Service games for Heather, both struggles. The 1st serve % is high (72%) , but it's not effective (42% Won). But, at least she got on the board - warming up hopefully.

1-2*

Game 4: Comfortable enough on serve for Misaki, holding to 30 again.

*1-3

Game 5: Nice convincing service game would be good. And it is much better, holding to 15.

2-3*

Game 6: Heather's best opening yet, 30-15*, is built on to create a 40-30* BP, first chance in the match. And it is taken, to level things up.

Heather having stabilised things well after Doi's hot start.

*3-3

Game 7: She now continues in the same vein, holding to love.

4-3*

Game 8: Misaki now looking to stabilise her own game, and does so, despite 30-15* she holds without losing another point.

*4-4

Game 9: Heather serving improvement continues (Now 68% won off 71% 1st serves). A slight wobble from *40-0 to *40-30, but holds from there.

5-4*

Game 10: Misaki holds to 30.

Pretty tight & even match now, Heather 1st serve slightly more effective, Doi 2nd serve slightly so. Heather just edging the point split after even service games - 34 to 31.

*5-5

Game 11: Tension mounting... *30-30. A potentially key point goes to Doi, set's up a first BP since game 3 for her, at a crucial time. Phew! Heather saves that one though, and holds from deuce 2. Pressure over to Doi.

6-5*

Game 12: 15-0*, 30-0*, 30-15*, 30-30*, 30-40* and Misaki holds despite a big scare. Heather not quite able to set up a set point, so we get the horrors of the tie break!

6-6

-- Edited by insomniacfolder on Saturday 13th of October 2012 04:09:30 AM

insomniacfolder · Challenger level

Set 2

Game 1: Heather forces a BP opportunity immediately in Set 2, from deuce, but Misaki saves it. Another BP from deuce 2 is conclusive, as Heather makes a strong opening statement in the set.
*1-0

Game 2: Doi is fighting back though, with a BP chance of her own, at 30-40*, and she impressively gets herself straight back into the set, breaking immediately.

1-1*

Game 3: Heather had 30-15*, but Misaki found the first Ace of the match by either girl, to make 30-30*. Heather gets another BP chance, from deuce and takes it to edge ahead again.

*2-1

Game 4: Doi responds with more pressure though, and 2 BP's of her own at 15-40*. She takes the first. 4 consecutive breaks then, all of a sudden, despite Heather serving 100% first serves so far in this set!

2-2*

Game 5: A hold then now becomes a precious commodity. Misaki manages to end the run of 4 breaks, holding to 30. Pressure over to Watson then.

*2-3

Game 6: Heather responds and manages to hold, to 30. Remarkably, that's 17 consecutive first serves in this set from Heather, yet to have a 2nd serve!

3-3*

Game 7: Strong hold from Misaki, to 15

*3-4

Game 8: Heathers first Ace of the match helps to continue the string of consecutive 1st serves, which eventually ends at 19!

From *40-0 there is a wobble to *40-30 before securing the hold.

4-4*

Game 9: Now would be a great time to break again . Misaki's first DF of the match gives Heather a 15-0* start, and she then fights to deuce from 15-40*. The BP comes and... it's converted

Heather will serve for the match and a place in a WTA final!

*5-4

Game 10: *0-15, *0-30, *0-40 Oh dear. She can hardly serve better, still only one missed 1st serve, but still faces 3 break back points.

Broken back to love. cry

Understandably nervous I suppose.

5-5*

-- Edited by insomniacfolder on Saturday 13th of October 2012 05:46:57 AM

Spectator · All-time great

Please just serve it out, Ms Watson. It would be lovely to see you make your first final. (NB: Manifestly there is no "just" involved ... it would be a huge accomplishment under considerable pressure)

-- Edited by Spectator on Saturday 13th of October 2012 05:03:19 AM

Spectator · All-time great

Right. Let's try this again. Yes, Ms Watson, you have the chance, once again, to serve this out. But you don't really want to do that, do you? You'd far rather go into a tiebreak and have the additional tensions entailed. So please, don't worry about holding serve. (Let's see if that works better. More seriously, congratulations to Ms Watson for not allowing the lost opportunity to derail her, and for breaking straight back)

-- Edited by Spectator on Saturday 13th of October 2012 05:10:31 AM

philwrig · Hall of fame

Hopefully they got the right advice regarding the shoulder, because the last thing you want would be to have to start 2013 with the problem still being there.